This movie opens with the words "This is a true story. The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in 1987. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred." I never challenged these words, but apparently no such incidents as depicted in this film ever occurred. The movie plays out quite believably - A middle-class car salesman gets in over his head financially by embezzling from his employer, thinking that the business deals he is making with the money will allow him to replace the stolen goods before he is detected. When his schemes don't pan out he must find a way to replace the money. The salesman's father-in-law - and employer - is wealthy but distant and indifferent towards him, so he hatches a plan to fake his wife's kidnapping with the help of two felons he doesn't know at all who are "vouched for" by an ex-con mechanic that works at the same dealership he works for. He figures his father-in-law will pay the ransom, he'll split it with the felons, and his problems will be solved. This is not to be the case. It turns out that these felons are more violent and uncontrollable than the salesman counted on, and they leave quite a body count in their wake. Also, in another clever twist, what becomes of the ransom money over which so many greedy people in the film have fought and died is quite ironic to say the least. Although I wouldn't exactly say we read this story in the paper everyday, we all have read something similar - someone who has lived an ordinary life for several decades suddenly gets tempted into some criminal activity that quickly escalates out of control.

The person who unravels the mystery of the crimes is the most unstereotypical of police officers - Marge Gunderson. She is the extremely pregnant chief of police in the small town where the first murders occur, and her combination of brains and folksy charm masterfully handle witnesses and trace the crime back to the car salesman and his dealership.

I've never been to Minnesota, but if the Coens' rendition of that state and its people was as spot-on as their parody of the American southwest in "Raising Arizona", then they have really done their research. I highly recommend it.

The Coen brothers' 'Fargo' is nearly a great film: a beautifully shot, blackly comic thriller that quietly subverts every convention of the genre. This is a film where the remote mid-western city of Minneapolis plays the same role as New York in a normal crime story, a hub of civilisation and vice; where the hero is a woman (and a heavily pregnant, happily married woman at that); and the chief villain a car salesman of absolutely no slickness whatsoever. In a final irony, most of the action doesn't even take place in Fargo, but in the even more obscure town of Brainerd. Yet I found it hard to love this film. At brief moments (in depicting the relationship of policewoman Marge, played superbly by Frances McDormaid, and her husband), it feels astonishingly tender, yet at others, it feels as if it is simply making fun of the strange folks from outer America with the wacky accents and absurdly stoical demeanour. And the combination of deadpan acting and frankly silly plot excess sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. Above all else, perhaps, 'Fargo' lacks a beating heart: while nearly moving, and nearly funny, there's a part of this film that refuses to commit itself, that prefers to hold back and mock not just its subjects, but also the idea that a film should take itself seriously. The Coens are widely celebrated as among the best film-makers of our age, but watching their films, I usually end up wondering whether irony is not a slightly over-rated virtue. Fargo looks lovely, and weird, and has a wry outlook all of it's own; but it won't make you laugh out loud, or cry. If it wasn't called a masterpiece I might almost like it.

The Coen brothers flash the based on true story disclaimer for a real 1987 Minnesota incident. It's one of the misdirections. Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) hires two bumbling criminals Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife and force his hard father-in-law Wade Gustafson to pay the ransom. Jerry is miserable working for Wade in his car dealership and he's in desperate need for cash. The kidnapping goes horribly wrong when more people get killed including a police officer. Pregnant sheriff Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) goes to investigate.

This is a great movie. It has its funny moments. It has great visual touches, the quirky characters, and the off-kilter style that is the hallmark of the Coen brothers. Macy is incredible as the sniffling little weasel. It walks the absurd line between dark and comedy. It has plenty of both. It is simply wonderful.